AFTER a couple of hours’ kip in the car, we wake up in the McDonalds’ car park close to the car rental place in Hackensack.

We’ve got an hour to kill before we can take the car back so we have breakfast in the McDonalds then go and refuel the car.

A bus ride takes us back into the Port Authority depot in town then we get the subway up to Lexington & 63rd, pick up some shopping/supplies and walk the few blocks to Ginny’s.

Ginny and John are away on a road trip, so we have the place to ourselves. Margaret watches Andy Murray on the telly and we have a sandwich then we have a much-needed sleep for a couple of hours.

My show tonight – a late addition to the tour – isn’t ’til 11pm at Otto’s Shrunken Head in the East Village. I’m only playing a half-hour set and we’re not expecting a big crowd as it’s so late on a Sunday…so we travel light and get the bus. Better to be playing a show and (hopefully) making some money than going out and spending!

We get down to 14th Street by 9pm and find a place to eat – Tatsu Ramen on First Avenue. The ramen is AMAZING…and great value.

After eating we walk the few blocks to Otto’s Shrunken Head where a weird metal/techno/screamo act fronted by pint-sized lassie with a huge voice is playing. There’s another act to go before my slot, so we chat with promoter Frank, have a beer and then my cousin Wil and his new wife Mia come in. Awesome to see them, especially as it’s a late Sunday night show and they both have extremely early starts for work in the morning.

The back room at Otto’s is small, dark, sweaty and loud…perfect for my show! I have an absolute blast and there’s a great bunch of people in and we shift some merch. It’s so much better than I expected 🙂

We say cheerio to Wil and Mia and hang out to watch the final act of the night over another drink. i drink some whisky with Frank, then we head for the Upper East Side…the bus arrives just as we get to the bus stop. Perfect timing. I’m now actually quite liking the NYC buses…Margaret has always liked buses, but I generally prefer the speed and (general!) predictability fo the subway.

We’re back in the apartment by 2am and have a snack and a wee nightcap. Our body clocks are more fucked up in the last few days than they’ve ever been with transatlantic flights! Glad we have a day or two to wind down before flying home.

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